Being Productive

This morning, I really felt led to Proverbs 31 during my Bible Study. It is one of those chapters that I could read over and over and over again, but I always walk away with something different.

I have really been convicted lately about how I spend my idol time. Our pastor yesterday spoke about how it is so much easier to plop down on the couch to watch a show than to go exercise. Often I'll watch a show and think we'll that's 30 minutes of my life that I'll never get back. During that time, I could have been picking up the house, spending time with my husband or kids, excercising, etc.

I want to live a productive life. I want to be involved in every moment of my little ones' lives. I don't want them to see me focused on the tv or other chores that should and could have been done during naptime when I instead chose to waste that time.

"She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness." Proverbs 31:27

May I bless my husband by allowing him time with our family rather than helping me stay caught up on the jobs that God has given me as a wife and mother.

Summer

Today was our last day of "school". Tucker LOVES school, and is having a hard time understanding why we don't go to school all of the time. I'm ready to spend the summer with just my kiddos!

Tucker is ready to hit the pool. He's doing so well in swimming lessons. Can't wait for some warmer temps!

First Steps

Our sweet Adde could climb up on our couch and climb up the neighborhood slide, but she would not let go of her mommy or daddy's hands to walk on her own. Today Adde took two steps for her mommy and another step tonight for her daddy. I'm so proud of the confident little girl that she's becoming!

Waiting

In December, we noticed several lumps in Tucker's neck. We were concerned, so we talked to a couple of doctors who both told us just to watch it for a couple of months. At Adde's one year check-up, we mentioned to our peditrician that they were still there, so he scheduled us for an ultrasound. Tucker did amazing during the ultrasound. He was in his Thunder gear, so the tech talked Thunder with him taking his mind completely off the scan. The scan showed seven lumps the largest being 1.75 cm.

Yesterday, our wonderful peditrician texted me that there was something in his lymph nodes and that he needed to see us next week. We're scared.

I am so thankful for two of my closest friends who cried with me yesterday. My friend Danna sent me this text taken from Psalm 91 from The Message that I have clung to...

"If you hold on to me for dear life," says God, "I'll get you out of any trouble. I'll give you the best of care if you'll only get to know and trust me. Call me and I'll answer, be at your side in bad times; I'll rescue you, then throw you a party. I'll give you a long life, give you a long drink of salvation!"

We go Monday morning for a consult with a different doctor. Until then, we are staying busy and clinging to those words.

Adde - 1 year

It's a little late, but it's hard to believe our baby girl is one!

-She is a very busy little girl with a red head attitude to match her auburn colored hair. When she wants something, she wanted it five minutes ago!!
-She still adores her big brother. She follows him everywhere and "talks" to him constantly.
-She broke herself of bottles a couple of weeks before her first birthday.
-At her one-year check-up, she weighed 20 lbs. 10 oz.
-She is starting to become a little chatterbox! She says momma, da da, bubba (her first word), no, and more (when she wants a bite).

Oh, how we love this little redhead!!

From the Mouth of Tucker

1. What is something mom always says to you?

I love you more.



2. What makes mom happy?

When I am nice.



3. What makes mom sad?

When I cry



4. How does your mom make you laugh?

Tickles


5. What was your mom like as a child?

tickle


6. How old is your mom?

1


7. How tall is your mom?

like daddy


8. What is her favorite thing to do?

Go to the house


9. What does your mom do when you're not around?

Play with Maggie


10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

Being taller


11. What is your mom really good at?

Babies


12. What is your mom not very good at?

Petting the dog


13. What does your mom do for her job?

Be nice


14. What is your mom's favorite food?

Chicken


15. What makes you proud of your mom?

Presents


16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?

a duck


17. What do you and your mom do together?

Be ducks


18. How are you and your mom the same?

Because we are the same and we go together.


19. How are you and your mom different?

We like the Thunder blanket


20. How do you know your mom loves you?

We cuddle


21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?

Chuck E. Cheese
.

Cruising along...

Adde has really grown the past few days. She has started cruising the furninture (taking her sweet time), babbling, and climbing into her PBK chair. She gets so excited each time she makes it into her chair. She just grins her adorable, teethy grin waiting for everyone to acknowledge her.

these are the best days of our lives

I want to cherish every moment of my babies. We have been so busy lately (explaining the lack of posts). Keeping up with two very active crawlers and a very busy 3-year-old is exhausting!

Last night, we spent the evening together playing at play zone, enjoying some froyo at orange leaf, and just playing together at home. Tucker drug his basketball goal in from the backyard telling us "look guys", so he wanted to "shoot hoops". We ended up having a big living room basketball game while sister crawled around dodging the ball and playing. I loved every second of the giggles and squeals from both of our babies.

These are really the best days of our lives!

5 months

i realized this morning that i never posted adde's 5 month stats, so...

at 5 months, adde...

-weighs a little less than 16 lbs.
-loves to eat. she eats cereal each morning for breakfast and veggies at other meal times. we haven't found anything she doesn't like yet, but sweet potatoes seem to be her favorite.
-lights up whenever anyone acknowledges her!
-rarely fusses.
-gets up once a night for a snack.
-takes 5 1/2 ounces of breast milk every 3 hours.
-loves her brother's old jumperoo.
-has the cutest chubby rolls.
-loves to talk!

four months

yesterday, tucker and i went on a playdate at a bounce place with our preschool department at church while adde played at uncle zack and aunt hollie's house. we spent the afternoon in ada for sweet adde's 4 month check-up. dr. o was so impressed with how big she has gotten as well as her red hair. she was happy the entire appointment, smiling and talking to dr. o, until it came time for the shots! :( needless to say, mommy and tuck got to stop at a peach stand for some peach ice cream on the way home as a reward for surviving the appointment.

at 4 months, adde...

-weighs 13 lbs. 10 oz. she's in the 66th percentile in weight and the 50th in height.
-has found her feet. she grabs them many times a day.
-is grasping toys. while playing on her playmat, she pulls on the toys above.
-started eating cereal. she's still a little unsure about it, so hopefully she'll catch on soon so we can move to veggies.
-is drinking 5 oz. of breastmilk every 2-2 1/2 hours.
-wakes at 3 every morning for a snack before drifting back to sleep.
-adores her big brother!
-took her first vacation to Great Wolf Lodge in Texas with nan and pa and all of the fam.
-takes 3-4 naps a day. her morning nap is her only long nap though.
-squeals...it's so sweet to watch her squeal and grin at us when we acknowledge her!

fourth

i loved watching my kids' faces as they admired the fireworks.

to celebrate the fourth, we went to a parade on saturday morning in edmond. both kids had a big time.

we wrapped up the weekend with a cookout at our house with lots of pops and smoke balls.

cute tuck saying:
matt was telling tuck that we celebrate because we got independence from the britts. so tuck now says we got independence from the "bit$!"!

t-ball

we recently signed tuck up to play t-ball on his cousin sam's team. made the little guy's day, week, and summer! we signed him up the day before his first game, so we had little time to gather up the baseball necessities. the night before the game, we went and bought cleats, pants, socks, and batting gloves (because they are totally necessary in t-ball).







the day of his first game, tuck was so excited. I somehow managed to get a decent nap out of him, and off we went. he had a ton of fans come watch: nan and pa, all his aunts and uncles, gran and papa d, and some of matt's friends from work. he did such a good job. he "smashed" the ball before running to the honking base. i loved watching him play as he grinned from ear to ear. now he wakes up every morning asking if he has a "basaball" game today.

basketball shorts

all the boy will wear is "baketball shorts". he wears them from the time his feet hit the floor until we send him off to bed.

friday, hollie and i took the kids garage saling (bad idea). i let tuck take a dollar to find something special with. most kids would choose a toy, but tuck chose a pair of red nike mesh shorts.

i love my little sports fanatic!

3 months

this past week, adde turned 3 months. we were in ada on that day to pick brother up from his vacation at nan and pa's house. we came home to spend a few days vegging out as we all passed around some sick germs.

at 3 months, adde...

-loves her hands. we took her last monday for her 3 month pictures, and it was nearly impossible to get her to keep her hands out of her mouth.
-coos and smiles any time she is acknowledged. she is really turning into a happy baby.
-rolls over. she has rolled over for me and nan and pa several times, but has yet to show off her new skill to her daddy. i think he thinks we're lying!
-still loves bathtime.
-has the sweetest chubby thighs, wrists, and tummy. baby girl loves to eat!
-eats 4 3/4 oz. of breast milk every 2 1/2 hours.
-is getting lots of straight, fluffy redish hair. her gigi is so excited!
-loves to kick. she has started pestering brother a bit with those busy little feet!

oh, sweet adde girl, we love you so much!

life lately

a day trip to the zoo.
lunch with daddy.
lots of playtime in the yard.
tucker saying his night-night prayers.
kissing on adde's chubby cheeks.
watching adde almost roll over. she can't figure out how to get over that arm.
sweet adde sleeping on her side.
early morning feedings. only once a night though!
a visit to the children's museum.
swimming at nan and pa's house where mr. t was so brave going down the slide.
watching tucker sing Jesus loves me to his baby sister.
cuddling with my sweet babies.
playing lots of living room baseball, basketball, and soccer.
feeding adde 4 1/2 oz every 2 1/2 hours.
watching and cherishing every moment with my babies.

2 months

today adde is 2 months old. time has gone by so fast, but at the same time it seems like she's been with us forever. we've had some recent colic issues with our sweet girl, but switching bottles has done the trick.

at 2 months adde...

-just started wearing size one diapers. she is still wearing mostly newborn clothes, but is slowly fitting into some of her 0-3 month clothes.
-got her shots this past thursday at her 2 month check-up. she was not a fan!
-weighs 8 lbs. 15 oz. and takes 4 ounces of breast milk every two hours.
-has slept through the night a few times, but still only gets up once most nights.
-has the most precious smile that she showed us on may 8th and has started cooing at us as well.
-loves watching her brother and the mobile on her swing.

we love you sweet addeline!

indeed blessed

i am indeed blessed. life is a whirlwind right now and it's hard to find time to document it all, but i don't want to forget a moment.

our past two weeks:
-on friday, april 30th, matt and i took tuck to a thunder playoff game while adde stayed with aunt wendy. we had a wonderful time with the johnston family enjoying a yummy dinner at coach's, a carriage ride across bricktown, and then a very exciting nba playoff game. tucker grinned from ear to ear the entire time even though we lost by one.
-last tuesday, tucker started swimming lessons. it's a parent and tot class, and since i just had a baby 6 weeks earlier, i declared myself exempt! he is doing great practicing kicking and splashing daddy. he will continue to go every tuesday and thursday for the entire month of may.





-on saturday, i graduated from ecu with my master's degree in reading. it was a special day that we shared with matt's family since my family was all in okc welcoming gage tyler into the world.
-adde is no longer the baby on the fuller side! she may not be the youngest, but she is still the smallest. gage came into the world yesterday afternoon tipping the scales at 11 pounds 1 ounce! holy cow!



today is mother's day. i remember those hard mother's days where we sat in church watching other mothers getting recognized while we wondered when it would be our turn. since then, i have been blessed beyond measure with 2 of the most beautiful, incredible kids. days are hard...babies fuss, toddlers make messes, the house seems out of control, but i love my life and my kids!

tuck and adde, i am so thankful that god chose me to be your mommy! i love you so much!

His Memory

Tucker's ability to remember things continues to amaze me. Friday morning, we were talking about how old he was and I told him twice when his birthday was. I figured it went in one ear and out the other. While driving in the car Friday night, I asked him when his birthday was and he replied "Sober 16th". He amazes me!

From the Mouth of Tucker

Matt has been gone to play softball this evening, so we stayed in out of the wind. The Thunder are playing in the playoffs, and my little sports fanatic has been so excited! He begs to wear his "Funder" shirt everyday. Tonight, I let him stay up a little late to watch the first half of the game with me. He was cracking me up! He would yell "Go Funder!" and "Go KD!" everytime a Thunder player would touch the ball. He also decided that the Thunder's coach looks like Dave from the Chipmunks. It amazes me how he knows what's going on. I guess it's from all of the basketball games we drug him to in the past to watch our youth play.

1 month old

Our sweet Addeline is one month old today! Where has time gone? We celebrated by meeting daddy for lunch at Chipolte before heading to see Gigi and Gramps.

At one month, Adde is:
-drinking 3 ounces of breastmilk every 2 hours. She is growing like a little weed! She is still long, but is finally starting to fit into some of her newborn clothing.
-sleeping great! She usually only wakes once during the night (usually around 4 am) to eat. Getting her back to sleep is a bit tricky.
-She loves watching her big brother play. It's amazing how she'll move her head to watch his every move.
-She loves bathtime! She lays back and relaxes and doesn't cry until we get her out of her tub.



-Adde loves one of her brother's old blue pacifiers. I bought some similar but she wanted nothing to do with them. I finally found another package of them at Target, so now we have 3 of her favorite kind. Her brother is constantly cramming them in her mouth or giving them to his stuff animals.



-We are slowing getting into a routine. She loves sleeping in until around 9:30, but then she stays awake the rest of the morning. She has started taking her afternoon nap in her room for about 4 hours each afternoon.